10.2008 Last Week

The Silk Road
Urumqi to Dunghua via Turpan

The Uyger Hat-making Family of Turpan
Most of the people in Turpan (the second lowest place on the planet 154m below sea level) are the Ethnic Uyger. They are Muslim, they are Chinese, the speak a form of Turkish and use the Arabic script. Confused yet? They live in an oasis in the heart of the desert that has been fed by an ancient irrigation system nearly 2000years old. In underground canals, dug by their ancestors, the snow melt from the Tian
Shan Mountains (Heavenly Mountains) runs with the help of gravity to this natural depression creating the greatest place to grow the sweetest grapes. The Kiraz irrigation system is famous for its technique and effectiveness, keeping this community alive for centuries.

The Uyger family factory we visited makes traditional Uyger hats. We had an opportunity to learn how the bead-work is done and the practice a bit ourselves. It is not easy and very time consuming, especially for our city hands which are
particularly impatient and our young agile fingers are best at typing and videogame joystick maneuvering.

We were treated to delicious naan bread and local grapes under the shade of grapevine
canopy. We each were suited with a traditional hat according to custom; Men wear black hats with white beaded patterns, while women wear red or burgundy hats with gold and pink bead-work and tassels. In return I left them with a few photos. Their smiles said it all.

Muslim Village- Muslim City.
China is so big. There are parts of China that China doesn't even know about yet. In any particular day (and on one in particular) you can wake up in a crummy Chinese hotel, hop on a bus to an Israeli town past that into an Afghani village in the mountains, into the Egyptian desert, and finally rest in the afternoon under the grapevine shade of a Greek estate. China is not only Chinese, in fact more of it is not Chinese than is. While Han are the ethnic majority, the land is vastly not the typical CHINESE landscape and there are people over nearly half of it that are Tibetan, Mongolian, Kazak, Turk, Russian, Uyger and many other smaller ethnicities.
And even that is not all the city is another story all together. Yet they all are Chinese, Just ask them (in what ever language they speak and they will tell you.)

Week before last
Habitat for Humanity
Ganhaiza (a village too small to be on any map), Yunnan, China post one: The Village rests on the far side of a mountain. The nearest road stops in a local township where we stayed in a rugged "guest house." In the mornings after breakfast we would hike over the mountain to the village where we would work with the villagers, play and eat in rapid succession. The people of the village are ethnic Miao people. They
are one of China's largest ethnic minority groups and populate large parts of Southern China. The women wear their hair up in the traditional fashion once they have children. The men wear suit coats for all manner of work: digging, farming, basketball and eating. even some of the younger boys wear them. It is an ironic image to see a muddy man with pick ax wearing a ragged tailored suit.
many pictures in between

Post Two:
We worked on various projects: digging a foundation, picking and shucking corn, cooking, and then befriending the village and getting schooled on the Basketball court. The students worked with total dedication, played with enthusiasm and loved completely. I was so pleased with the work they did, the attitude they brought, the patience they showed with the projects and each other...; they were truly
amazing. I presented regular challenges and to every one they approached each completely. I have not remembered being so impressed in a while. The land we were working in spread out in front of us, below us and above us constantly inspiring awe. The air was fresh, a welcome alternative to Shanghai's din and suffocating heat and tangible air.